Zone of the Enders: Freelancer- Unbroken Faith
by CobaltSkywing
Summary: Part Earther, part Martian, Kenneith Ebanes is a freelancer piloting a new Orbital Frame originally developed for the UNSF, based on partial stolen plans, during the events of ZOE and ZOE: the 2nd runner. Ebanes would rather stay out of the conflict between Earth and Mars, but when everything and everyone is on the line, including those he cares most for, he may have no choice...
1. Antaeus

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zone of the Enders, everything belongs to their respective owners. **

Chapter One: Antaeus

"It's finally ready..." said the Doctor, as she marveled at her creation. "Our hard work has finally paid off!"

If she hadn't briefly looked at me when she said "our", I might have thought that she had completely forgotten that I was beside her. She was like that sometimes, not that I blamed her though, she was very committed, often putting all other things out of her mind when she was immersed in her work, focusing only at the task at hand.

The current object of her excitement was of course the now finished construction of the new version of an experimental humanoid orbital frame. And I had to admit, I too was a bit awed by the sight, especially since I would be her pilot, her first frame runner.

I took in her sleek beauty, her grey base color with jet black underside, and lighter black pattern that was more present on her legs, neck, and joint areas then anywhere else on her body. She looked like a lighter mid-weight mech, but I had no doubt that she held a formidable power...one I had witnessed first hand from my last days in the Earth's Space Force, before I joined this project.

Pushing her round glasses back in place, the Doctor faces me once more. "Alright Ebanes, I'm sure your eager to test her. Lets see what she can do..."

I simply nod in her direction as I walk up to the lift that would send me up to the frames cockpit. Unlike the traditional orbital frame—and LEV as well—the cockpit to this one was _above_ where the midsection where the legs joined—where the cockpit usually was as a pointed conical shape. This cockpit was built in to the center and was not directly noticeable from the outside,a very thick armor panel in the section below her upper chest and above her lower midsection raises and the cockpit _shielding—_a design feature of the cockpit from traditional orbital frames that was still kept—lowers, all in a fraction of a second.

I exited the lift and commanded the cockpit to open by pressing a small button near its location. The cockpit opened with a slight hiss and I stepped in one foot at a time, slowly sliding into the seat of the cockpit. As quickly as it opened, the cockpit slammed down and I was immersed in darkness for a second until lights on the console started to light up and the frame came to life.

I was then also greeted by a surprisingly human sounding voice that I recognized as the frames A.I. "All systems are green and ready. Orbital Frame Antaeus is fully operational and ready for the field test."

"Wow, you sound way more humanlike then I thought you would..." I said in astonishment.

"I am more..._advanced_...then most A.I.s. I am ARA Seven. ARA or Seven, however will suffice for designation."

"Seven it is..." It actually just so happened I considered the number seven, my _"lucky number"._

Suddenly the Doctor's face appeared on a small windowed screen. "If your done cozying up to the A.I, I'd suggest getting that frame moving. I'm opening the doors now." her face disappears after she's done scowling me and I begin to move Antaeus out of the hanger.

The stars of space welcomed us, shining brightly even here on this large asteroid. I looked up, a large grin cross my face. _Alright lets see what this baby can do!_

I hear the back winged jets respond to my command as they spin up. In less than a second we were far up into the air, soaring! Never before had I directly experienced anything like this...the sheer output as I maneuvered the craft into swirls, twists, flips, and anything else I could think of.

"Alright, Ebanes, bring her to a stop." Ordered the Doctor. "I'm releasing combat drones for you to test Antaeus' weapons against."

"Hehe, finally..." I chuckled, impatient to try'em out. "Bring'em on Doc!"

_"I detect 12 hostile drones coming around the side of the asteroid from both sides." _Informed Seven. _"The ones approaching at our left seem to be less armored than the ones on the right...I'd recommend attacking them first."_

I decided to follow Seven's suggestion, heading full speed for the drones, readying the laser rifle. I target the nearest three, and they burst into flames with one shot each, leaving only five left. _Heh Seven wasn't kidding, these things __**are**__ lightly armored._

The other surviving drones from this group however, waste no time at all, firing at us as they circled us at a surprisingly fast speed. The frame however just shrugs off the rounds as they hit. No doubt their armed with less damaging rounds specifically for this exercise...bad news for the drones.

Although their speed made them harder to hit with the rifle, they were close enough for the rifles burst blade attack. I could feel Antaeus' energy building around her seconds before she released a small but powerful burst of energy simultaneously with her blade in a quick, circular motion that caught all the drones in its wake, destroying them utterly.

The victory was short-lived, however as the other squad of drones caught up with us and engaged. These drones were far bigger and meaner looking, as were their weapons which were of an obviously higher caliber.

I activate the frames shield function quickly as massive lasers rushed toward us from the four drones. As I expected, the shields held but I was slightly caught off guard at these drones ferocity.

_"It seem's these drones are advanced prototypes of heavy drones, I'd recommend taking them down quickly." _Advised Seven, stating the obvious.

I waited for a break in fire, and then dashed backwards with an upward flip, activating my homing lasers which hit and critically damaged the first drone. Wanting to stay on the offensive, I decided that dashing all around these drones, which as strong as they were, were also slower, taking shots when I could. A barely got off a finishing shot, still did, on one of them before the last two are already firing on me and I have to move off.

I decided to take a risk. I dash around to the back of the drones and ready a burst shot. I'd be vulnerable until I fired but if could hit them with the ball of energy it produced...I could finish off the two close together in one hit.

I feel powerful energy once again being charged up, about to smash my targets into scrap piles as it forms into a large ball of energy in "my" "hands". I launch it just as the drones turn and their pulverized into dust.

"Well done, Ebanes!" I hear the Doctor's praise as she appears on-screen once more. An all business smile upon her face as she resets her glasses again with her thumb. "The test was a success, the orbital frame performed perfectly. We should have no problem keeping our defense contract with the UNSF now, not after they ask us to manufacture more orbital frames for them."

"Good for you." I said, not exactly excited by the prospect as she was. "I'm still out of here when the jobs done though, I'd rather not get anymore involved in the conflict."

The Doctor simply looked disappointed. I knew that she had hoped I would stay, that I had more to offer. "I see..." she sighed. "It's too bad, you have skill, kenneith, and I'd hoped you would stay...but... I do understand why..." her eyes were filled with compassion and understanding as she said that...she was truly one of the few people who truly got me, during my time working jobs for Veriago Mechanics, I'd often see her, honestly I considered her more than a friend, I considered the older women almost like a second mother.

"Thank you, Lisana, I—"

Seven's voice cut me off, hysterical. _"Incoming!" _she screamed, taking control and rapidly turning the frame to the side as a large beam misses us by mere inches and hits the hanger, causing massive damage.

"Damn! Seven where the hell did that come from!"

_"I've detect multiple orbital frames approaching this location!_" a second screen pops up showing a large number of hostiles with a larger frame out in front leading them. The second window sets next to the Doctors window which was showing a dismayed and shocked face staring back. _"The shot appears to have come from the lead. He also appears to be controlling the unmanned Raptors directly, taking him out will end the attack."_

"Right!" I acknowledged confidently. I rush towards my target, readying Anteaus' blade.

"Hold on Ebanes! We're sending out the security teams and their LEV's to aid you!" The Doctor informed me as I cut through a raptor with a single slice. Another soon followed suit with a vertical upward cut from my blade. However as I cut through that one another attacks from the side and our blades cross. I attack again and again our blades cross, once, twice and three times more as well until I grabbed him the moment our blades uncrossed. I line'em up with another Raptor and launch him like a speeding missile, blowing them both up into multiple spare parts.

Three more of them come at me in formation, hurling projectiles at me. I blocked them with my shield then dashed to the left. Before I took a shot though, one of the Raptors explode. I look to my right to see four grey Phantoma LEV's, slight smoke coming from the guns of two of them.

"The cavalry's here!" I heard one of them shout, as I notice multiple LEV's pouring out of the facility behind them.

The four LEV's beside me open fired on the still two Raptors attacking me, tearing them apart. Unfortunately they failed to notice two approaching Raptors coming from the side and they tore into two of the LEV's. I open fire with homing lasers on the two raptors, destroying them in two volleys as I dashed to the left in quick succession.

"AH!" I screamed, As two beams from the lead frame slams into Antaeus with brute force. " Damn!" I growled angrily.

"Wait a minute...!" An all too familiar darker voice said, the voice belonging to the Runner of the enemy frame. "Is that...Ebanes?!" he started to laugh maniacally. "Kenneith Ebanes! Hehe, well if it isn't half-breed Keith!"—He fires another shot from his gun, this time in smaller bursts of energy which impact upon me directly, causing the cockpit to shake.

"Saleis Black..." I said, a tone of deep anger in my voice. I could feel my blood boil just mentioning his name. "I'd heard you joined BAHRAM after you stole from Veriago and they fired you!"

This only angered him more and he charged blindly at me, slashing wildly with his blade, only getting madder as I dodged them by weaving left and right. I dash around to his side and just have at it with my blade, dealing a moderate amount of damage before he blocks it with his shield.

"heh, not bad Keith..." Saleis chuckled. "But still, not good enough!"

Suddenly he dashed back and then just vanished! _What the hell...? where did he gg— . _I got a sudden feeling of dread, instinctively turning around to see Saleis reappear in front of my eyes.

"TAKE THIS!" he yells, as thousands of missiles appear from out of thin air and pound me brutally.

"AHHHH!" I scream as I feel the frame shake violently and console short circuits, giving me a painful shock. And then in horror I see large amounts of energy gathering around, no doubt him about to deliver the killing blow. Already I can feel my life flashing before my eyes as I start to drift into unconsciousness despite my best attempts to stay awake.

As the lights go dark, I'm barely aware of Seven warning that Antaeus' armor level was critical. In my last moment of consciousness, I'm aware of falling, of impacting on a hard surface.

And then...nothing...


	2. Tale Of The Son

Chapter Two: Tale Of The Son

A voice pentrates the dark. A caring voice that calls me, that fills me with warmth and reassures me that I am safe.

"_Son? Are you ok?" I hear my father ask, my back still turned to him. "Keith...look at me..." he turns me around and his face is aghast with concern. He studied the various bruises across my cheek and pieces it all together quickly. "It was that kid again, wasn't it?" I nod and he sighs. "Son...do you know why you get into fights with that kid?"_

_ "yes.." I answer sadly. " It's because I'm different, because I don't belong to anything, not Earth, not Mars, not nowhere!" I cry. I'm so sick of being treated like i'm lower than dirt! Even 'Earthers' treat 'Enders' better then half-breeds like me! As far as everyone else is concerned, at least Earthers and Enders are from one world or the other, kids like me however, are usually treated like we shouldn't have ever existed in the first place, like it's 'an affront to humankind' just because most people don't think Earthers should ever mix with Enders!_

_ To my surprise I feel my father's hands on my shoulders and I see him crouch down to meet me at eye level. "Keith, forget what anyone else tells you. It's only important what you think about yourself that my son and I love you. As long as you stand for something and stay true to you, you will always belong." His words actually help me feel better. He wipes my tears away with his hand. I hug him tightly and hear him ask me something that I will carry with me for life._

_ "which Is why I want to ask something of you." I look at him with eyebrows raised."Son...I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you will never succumb to this hate that has driven a wedge between so many..."_

_ "huh?"_

_ He stood back up, a stern look set upon his face and a dead serious shown in his dark blue eyes..."Just promise me, you will stay you, that you'll be different..."_

_ "I...I..I promise dad."_

Suddenly the image of 13-year-old me with my father fades into black and I'm alone again, alone in the black, with his words still ringing in my ears. Sometimes I wonder what he thinks of me, of the man I've become. Mostly though, I wonder if he's ashamed, after all, all I've really done is hide from my difference, denying my "unique" "heritage" but then there are some days, when I'm at my lowest, that I think...maybe he was wrong.

Before I'm able to question it further another scene from my past surfaces, one I painfully remember all too well...

_"Hey Keith, you ready to go?" asks Dan. He throws an arm around me and smiles before laughing. " I still can't believe you managed to get our C.O to give us a two-day leave, just so we can go see a game? I mean the guy kinda dislikes us."_

_ "No he __**dislikes**__ you!" I say amusingly before letting out a small laugh as he removed his arm. "And who could blame him? You __**did**__ pour that stuff in his coffee one time that made his voice really __**high**__ pitched the whole day."_

_ Dan starts laughing wildly, obviously remembering it. "yeah! That was priceless! Remember what everyone was calling him in hushed tones behind his back?"_

_ We both look at each other, answering at the same time: "Squeaky!"_

_ "He also made you clean the toilets by hand for a week!" says Laura, who was leaning against the wall. She starts walking with us as we pass her._

_ "It was still worth it!" insists Dan._

_ "Sure it was..." She says with a hint of sarcasm. "We leaving or not?" she crosses her arms impatiently._

_ "Yeah let's go..." I say._

_ "Good." sighs Dan. "Being posted here on Deimos can be such a bore!"_

_Suddenly a loud voice is heard all throughout the station. "All pilots report to your LEV's immediately! Deimos is under attack!"_

_ "What!" we all say in unison as everything suddenly starts shaking around us._

_ We waste no time, sprinting to where are LEV's were located. Luckily we were already close by. The whole place was in chaos as pilots scrambled to get to their LEV's. I quickly find mine and enter the cockpit. I look over to my left see Dan and Laura have already started moving their LEV's out of the station. I follow close behind, wondering what we were about to get ourselves into._

_ I hear Dan complaining over the radio to me about how " Of all days, someone had to attack the station today?"_

_ So I say: "Relax Dan, there's enough LEV's here to handle just about anything! Heh, it's probably halfway over..."_

_ I couldn't have been more wrong. What we saw when we exited the station was a grim sight...there were multiple downed LEV's, many of them were in pieces or halves, just floating, dead in space. It had to be about 15 or so LEV's total that were floating around._

_ "Looks like your half right Keith..." utters Laura. "What could have done this...?"_

_ Our attention was then drawn to the battle occurring over the station and the unknown enemy that was obliterating them. I didn't recognize what it was, none of us could, some new kind of LEV maybe? I didn't think so, this thing was way tougher then any LEV I'd ever seen!_

_ It was mostly white with black accents with small wings and some green crystal looking things on its shoulders and thighs. It also didn't look nearly as...bulky as an LEV, it was slimmer and its body structure had a more fractured kind of appearance._

_ "What the HELL is that!?" Screams Dan_

_ "I don't know..." Says Laura. "But we better take it down before it kills us all!"_

_ "Right!" Exclaims Dan and I simultaneously, as we join the others in the fight, unleashing everything we have on this enemy._

_ It didn't look good at first however, as nothing seemed to be working, this...thing just shrugged everything off or blocked it with a shield! And then it just stops, floating near a large hole in the station. At first I could have sworn I saw someone floating towards it, disappearing into the cockpit, but I tell myself that I'm seeing things. I quickly maneuver my LEV in to position, taking advantage of the fact its back was turned to me. I wasn't the only one with the same Idea as others follow my lead and we open fire simultaneously_

_ Fortunately I see reinforcements arriving in large numbers as everyone tries surrounding the target. Oddly enough though, I recognized some of the LEV's as members of BAHRAM mixed in with the Space Forces own units._

_ The hostile slashes through a few more before firing multiple homing lasers, which tear through multiple LEV's. My eyes grow wide and my face turns ghostly white as I see a few of them head straight for an LEV that I recognize as Dan's._

_ "Dan! you have incoming!" I hear myself scream over the comm. "Evade! Evade!"_

_ But Dan was too late, failing to move out-of-the-way in time and is hit by multiple lasers, blowing off his LEV's head, right arm, most of its torso, tearing into his cockpit as well. I look on the sight with horror as I see his lifeless LEV float amongst its dismembered parts amid the graves of the other LEV's around him._

_ "DANNN!" I want to rush over to the wreckage to see if he survived but I realize that the threat needs to be removed before I could actually do anything for him._

_ I join back up with the surviving LEV's and launch a full on barrage that actually manages to not only destroy its wings but rip off one of its arms as it's hammered into the station's hard metallic exterior. Incredibly the thing still got back up and in an unexpected twist, one of the LEV's from BAHRAM approaches the assailant._

_ My curiosity was peaked, as was my suspicion as to where this damn thing came from. I scan the frequencies till I isolate the one I want, finding that I've picked up on the last part of a conversation between the BAHRAM LEV's female pilot and the unknown attacker. One thing stands out during the entire conversation, she identifies its pilot as Lieutenant Radium Lavans, confirming my beginning suspicion of BAHRAM's involvement. The conversation, however, takes a weird turn as "Lavans" starts spouting out things made no sense, making me think that he is not "all there". The more he talks the more I'm sure of it as the other pilots is desperately trying to reach him without success, her pleas falling on deaf ears._

_ Suddenly he says something about a person he mentions earlier named "Dolores" and how she will" guide him". At the same time ball of energy of some kind starts forming around one of its hands, which it had raised at the BAHRAM LEV. The female pilot pleads one more time, but it's too late. Before he can launch it, we all, except her, fire a second non-stop bombardment at him, utterly destroying his machine, tearing it apart limb by limb with explosive force, leaving nothing but a smoldering, barely intact wreck behind..._

_ I almost felt bad...until I remembered about Dan. I rush over to the site of his down LEV and the sight once again makes my insides turn. As soon as I reach it, I open my cockpit and push-off of it to propel myself to Dan's damaged cockpit. I reach out and grab it and start to feel for the button that opens it. It takes me less then a second to find it; I press it with haste and the cockpit opens revealing Dan's unconscious body. At first I assume he was knocked by his banging against the inside of the cockpit but on closer inspection it's much worse than it looks, as I notice the dried blood on his side, partly covered by his hand. I move it to get a better look and my insides turn further; a piece of metal half the size of my palm was imbedded into his side which appeared to have came through a hole in the cockpit I'd noticed earlier. This was bad. Worse yet it was in their really deep and could very well be deep enough in that it might have punctured his lungs._

_ I had to decide quickly. I couldn't leave him here, he would most certainly die before help could arrive...but...if I moved him...it might just kill him anyway. I grab him, deciding that his chances were better if I risked moving him in my LEV then to wait here for search and rescue. I careful place him over my shoulder making sure to disturb the shard as little as possible as I moved brought him back to my cockpit._

_ "Hang in there Dan..." I say, hoping he would make it through this..._

Dan...I'm sorry...I...failed...

"huhh!" I awake with a gasp, my eyes darting wildly all around, my breathing heavy as I tried to recall the past...hours? Minutes? I didn't know. And then it hit me. The facility, BAHRAM, Saleis, the attack...

_The attack! I don't hear...I need to find out what happened after I went out!_

Of course I would need Seven for that and her and all the electronics and sensors were offline. And thanks to this small hole in my damn helmet, I couldn't exit the frame without suffocating.

At least things can't get much worse now...

**Authors note:**

** Originally I was going to continue directly from Chapter One but I thought it would be interesting to add some more background information about Ebanes in the form of trauma induced flashbacks. I actually decided to put in the part about Deimos when I saw the animation on YouTube. (for those who may not know, it's called Idolo 2167 OVA and takes place five years before the events of ZoE and revolves around the first Orbital Frame and its runner.) I tried to get it as right as I could.**

** I'd also like to point out that I know there are some aspects of my writing ability that could be better, and if anyone feels like pointing anything out, that's fine, all I ask is that nobody goes to far if they do write anything negative.(stuff like: "you're the worst ever", "give up...", and etc. Writing stuff like that in reviews just makes you look like a dick.)**

** So I hope my writings been good so far and I'd love to get some feedback and just to answer this question ahead of time: I'll try to update with a new chapter or two every week.**


	3. And It Begins With A Bang

Chapter Three: And It Begins with a bang

After about an hour of thinkering around with Antaeus' main console, I manage to reboot the system and the frame came to life once again. I was further relieved when I heard Seven's voice again. "Systems operational and maintaining at 23%."

I sigh lightly at the news, we were alive but 23%? that means that we were down to _**very**_ limited capabilities. "Which systems are still up? Weapons?"

"No. "

"What,,,? No bursts, homing lasers? No shield? What about the blade and gun?"

No...all weapon systems are locked down due to critical damage sustained throughout this Orbital Frame's various hardpoints an—"

"Alright, I get it" Cutting her off before she got too technical. "No weapons...What about movement?" I ask, desperately praying that that still worked at the very least.

"Yes. Though higher speed functions such as 'dashing' are temporarily offline in order to preserve higher critical functions..."

"I can live with that."

When I look around to see get my bearings, a realization comes over me. We were in a hole..."Thats fucking great!" I exclaim bitterly. "Seven can you find us a way out of this?"

"One moment...scanning..."I put a hand on my forehead. _How do I get myself into these situations?_ I think, as my hand slides don my face, stopping at my chin and forming an open fist with my thumb resting under my chin. "Proceed upward 30 feet, turn left, and head straight for 20 feet then upward continuously and we'll be out."

_How the hell did we get that far down? Did Saleis bury us or something?_

Not realizing I said it out loud, Seven responds, much to my surprise. "Not likely, it's more likely that he grabbed and tossed us, the resulting force and velocity, no doubt unintentionally, into the hole where we fell into our current position...I guess."

"Wow...that's quite a guess...but how bout we go find him and...ask..." I launch us upward as fast as I safely could in our damaged state.

As I navigate us through the twists and turns of this tunnel, I kept thinking the worst about what we would find once we surfaced, as far as I could tell, Saleis had brought a lot of Raptors with him. The Raptors themselves would've given the base and its security teams trouble but combined with the power of Saleis' beastly looking black Orbital Frame...well it couldn't have ended well for any of them.

Whatever the case, we're about to find out what exactly was sill left, if anything at all. _For all we know, the base might even still be there! If it wasn't...we were so freaking __**screwed**__!_

We reach the final part of the tunnel and I prepare for the worst. Exiting the small tunnel, we're welcomed by the stars shining brilliantly in the depths of vast space. If only they would shine on a more plesant sight...

It wasn't as bad as I had expected to find, but it was still grim nonetheless. The base was still here, though very badly damaged and a large gaping hole where the hanger door _used_ to be, it is still intact, battered and scarred, but intact. The damage to the Facility however paled in comparison to the sight just before it. There had to be hundreds of them, LEV's floating around, headless, armless, legless, cut in half, split vertically down the middle and/or in pieces, some having a combination of them all. There was even one that was so badly battered and destroyed that I could barely believe that it had once even resembled an LEV! Although most of the wreckage belonged to Securities LEV's, there were a lot of Orbital Frames as well, much to my surprise, Security appeared to have put up a decent fight. Saleis, unfortunately, was not among them, not that I expected him to be with the power his frame commanded. _Poor bastards...may they find peace from this darkness we have brought down upon ourselves with our pride and ancient predudice that has torn us all apart..._

personally I knew very few of them, but no-one among them rubbed me the wrong way. They all seemed like decent if not good people. But right now I can't afford to think anymore about them, not if I wanted to see justice done.

I manuever through the floating graveyard, and enter the hanger with ease, in part because of the gigantic opening. I was anxious as to what I would find when I first entered, I know it couldn't be any pretty then the sight outside. Once inside, I notice numerous scorch marks and bullet holes scattered all around as well as utterly destroyed ships and shredded LEV's all through out the hanger . There are numerous bodies as well, of security officers, technicians, and scientists scattered in various places, each more gory then the last, floating in place, surrounded by their own pools of blood, well the blood that hadn't been splattered all over the walls and floor.

I immediately recognize Saleis's work, as a sadist, he enjoyed killing and got a thrill out of watching the life drain out of his victims eyes, it excited him to see the final moments when the victim realizes he is doomed. To many he is also known as "The black Reaper"...

I lower Antaeus into a crouched on one knee position next to mettalic silver partially destroyed stairs. The chest opens up and I step out. I feel my mouth hang wide open and my eyes grow large out of pure shock as I turn around, seeing the actual physical extent of the damage done to Antaeus; There were multiple large fractures all across its body, its large back wings were badly bent up and their smaller counterpart wings on Antaeus' lower back are completely gone! As well as fractures, which were larger here then anywhere else the chest has been mashed in and has a large hole in the side. _And yet somehow I'm still alive?_

I added "Find a way to fix a prototype Orbital Frame" to my lost of already growing problems as I started walking down the stairs to the ground floor, well I floated down the stairs anyway, since the artificial gravity was not funtioning at the moment. Suddenly the already flickering light go out and the hanger is engulfed in darkness except for the light the stars produced which shined through the large hole I had entered from. I press a button on the side my pilot helmets small but bright flashlight and it flickers on.

I just hope that my ship was still intact. I was experiencing some problems with my ships navigation computer earlier when I first arrived at the facility today. Lisana, the Doctor, said that she would have the guys in maintenance take a look at it. As a result, my ship is not in the main part of the hanger, where I am currently. Instead it's in the smaller, adjacent, Maintenance bay, which still is sealed tightly shut, a fact that leads me to believe that BAHRAM came here for a specific reason besides the destruction of the facility, especially since so much of it was still intact.

I aim for one of the consoles, bouncing off the stairs to propel me forward. I barely grab the the large rectangular shape of the console with my left hand, almost flying far past it. I quickly pull myself within working distance of the computer, using my left hand to hold on to the console nad my right to activate it.

The first thing I do is check to make sure indeed that my ship, _Rising Dawn_, was still there. I breath a sigh of relief as it reads that the maintenance bay has been, in fact, left untouched, no one has entered it except the actual technicians, who unfortunately it seems, chose the wrong time to break for coffee...

There is however something else I needed to check out. I rapidly search through the facilities network until I find the security feeds. So many people here are dead...but I have yet to see lisana's body among them, strange since I know that she was in a part of the hanger during the attack. I had to know what happened, if nothing else, to her. _ I owe you that much doctor..._

The feeds for the hanger appear on screen and I go through them, looking for the one at the exact moments from when today when the hanger was breached to now. It doesn't take me long to find the right one, the time stamp on the feed begins to help me piece together how long I was out as well, based on which I can accurately say was about a little more then an hour. I play the video feed and the whole bloody event unfolds before my eyes. Right away I spot the doctor, with her assistant surrounded with a security detail. I realize that it's at the part where she's shouting at me, saying: _"Hold on Ebanes!_" and where she's yelling for security to . I skip a few minutes ahead, watching LEV's whisp too fast for the eye to keep track of as it fast forwards. Without warning the hanger door literally implodes inward and disentigrates, taking three on foot security officers with it. I feel large knot in my stomach beign form as I anticipate what happens next. I watch Saleis' black Orbital Frame emerge and the knot that was forming in my stomach was then replaced with a boiling rage as I watch him utterly annihilate three LEV's that hadn't made it out yet. I then feel my anger grow even more as I watch him exit his frame and start to gun down everthing that moves. The whole sight makes sick and fills me with burnung rage to make him pay for what he has done.

To my horror, I see him approach the doctor, gun raised at her. I almost couldn't bear to watch...what if the reason I hadn't seen her body yet...was because there was nothing left to find? I force myself to watch the rest, determined to find out what happened to her.

To my surprise, I watch as Saleis starts talking with the Doctor. Curious, I work on raising the audio quality, and am somewhat sucessful. It becomes evident very quickly what his intentions are as he threatens to shoot her assistant dead like he did everyone else, unless she does exactly what he says. I see her nod in compliance and then hear Saleis order her and her assistant to board his frame. However, as the go to his frame, I see him do something to the console the Doctor was using; the same one I'm using now. He then turns and with a dark smile upon his lips, he looks directly at the camera, as if he was staring directly at me, and then fires a round into it; the feed goes dark with static.

I know what I have to do now, I have to rescue the Doctor before it's too late. The only problem was that I needed Antaeus to do it and it was in no condition to fight. I needed help if if I was going to fix it...fortunately, I know just the person...a friend who would know something about Orbital Frames and also was more..."familiar" with BAHRAM then I and might be even be able to point me in the right direction.

Before I head back to Antaeus, I download all the data that I can from the console's banks and, after establishing a connection to my ship, upload it to the _Dawn's _computer; Antaeus' schematics, test data, capabilities, as well as more then a few restricted corporate files. The name of one of the folders uploaded caught my eye: _Project Nemity. _My curiosity would have to wait though as it was locked down with heavily encrypted.

I see the upload finish and am about to push off the console when I hear a faint beeping sound. Looking down at the console, I see the screen flashing bright red and the whole facility is bathed in the same red flashing light. _That's...not a good sign... red flashing lights are never good!_ I was right too, as I see the words: _ All emergency systems have failed, backup cooling system can no longer sustain reactor._

"Oh Shit...!" I shout, as a recorded female voice begins echoing throught the facility._ "Reactor core nearing critical level! Begin evacuation of the facility immediately!" _I'm already half way back to Antaeus whenthe message goes into a continuous loop. I'm back on board in a few panic filled seconds later.

"Alright Seven, lets get the hell out of here!"

I could hear the door leading to the maintenance bay open on the other side of the hanger, around the large stacked containers. Wasting no time, I head for the bay as fast as possible and I'm greeted by a welcoming sight, the dark silver of my ship and it's even dark black accents and sections of the ship. Its look and exterior structure is modeled in such a way that looked like something of a fighter/bomber craft only much larger. To me it for some reason reminded me of a bat, more or less because it had elongated protruding lengths and points on the sides of its wings, the wings themselves slight me more like rectangular with a slight curve. There was one of these lengths in the middle of both wings, and two on either side of the main chassis frame, near the front of the ship.

I connect Antaeus to the _Rising Dawn's _computer system and tell it to open the back cargo doors. A door in the back of the ship and a ramp extends out. Antaeus' head misses the roof of the ship's small cargo hold by six inches or so as I charge full speed into the hold and hook it into a cargo clamp usually meant for containers in order to keep them from tossing around during flight. I literally jump from the cockpit and rush up the steps , rush through the black automatic door and sprint through the passageway straight toward the bridge. I jump into the pilot chair and frantically startup the ships four engines. The engines come on with no problem and I'm rapidly in the air. I kick the engines in full speed and shoot straight for the hanger opening. As I pass through the opening, I hear Seven's voice coming through ships console front of me, surprising me until I remember that she and Antaeus were still connected to the _Rising Dawn's _computer.

_"The facility is powered by a mark III Tri-fusion Reactor, the resulting blast devastate anything within a three mile radius, we will not clear the blast radius in time."_

I chuckle at this. "Oh I wouldn't say that. This ship has got a surprise or two..." I power up one of the hidden functions of my ship, one that would save us. I hear Seven once restate her position.

_"Since my time connected to the ships systems, I have already scanned the ships capablities and while impressive, it will not be enough..."_

I see in one of the ships rear camera feeds, the facility begin to be rocked by powerful chains of small explosions indicating the "big one" was not far now. I check the status of my ace in the hole and to my joy it shows the green light. I activate it just as the facility and the asteriod it is on are incinerated by a massive explosion from which a massive wave of destructive energy was racing towards us.

The wave gets within inches of us but never reaches us however as both time and space are suddenly bent around us. I see stars rushing by us at light speed as the ship is propelled through what could best be described as what the inside of the tunnel made by a large curling ocean wave only far more transparent and see through and ocassionally flashed an equal translucent blue.

Minutes later we exited the jump into normal space once more, far away from the facility. I took off my helmet and let it lazily drop to the floor as I slumped back in my chair, breathing a sigh of relief

I hear Seven voice once again. _"I feel I must...apologize." _I nearly fall out of my seat, not believing what I was hearing, an AI...apologizing? _"I greatly underestimate you back there, truthfully since you first began operating Antaeus."_

"It's alright...I screwed up back there and almost got us both killed with my overeagerness to finally end what I had started with Saleis half a year ago." I say, also apologizing. "And for that I'm sorry. Oh and don't worry about not being able to detect my ships ability to copy the function of an Urenbeck Catapult with the Jump Drive. The compartment where the Jump Drive itself is is shielded specifically against scans from unauthorized AI's or otherwise. The tech involved is...not exactly...uhm...'legal'...heh heh..." I explain, slightly embarrassed at that last bit.

_"I had wondered...If I may,though, what happened a half year ago?"_

"Well we got time till we get our destination, I'd use the drive but I pushed it hard back there and it needs time to cool down for now." In order for the drive to have worked before the explosion killed us, I deactivated the safety protocols for it, the result being that the drive consequently overheated. At our current speed it would take us a full day to reach our destination. And so to pass the time I decided I tell Seven the story of how I met both Dr. Lisana Harwell and, consequently, Saleis Black...


	4. Old Friends, Old Enemies, New Problems

Chapter Four: Old Friends, Old Enemies, New Problems

"As you know I am a freelancer; I take jobs ranging from Security, Transportation, Smuggling, and test piloting new technology, anything to pay the bills really but those were what I did most often. One of my biggest employers is the Veriago Mechanics Corporation for the last two years now.

It was during my time working various jobs for them that I was introduced to Dr. Lisana Harwell, a decent amount of the missions I received from the corporation came from or through her. We quickly became close friends and she became someone I could actually talk to... it's is something I hadn't had in a long time...not since..."— My mind starts to flash back to the days when Dan was still alive and Laura and I were still close. I shake it off though, not wanting to re-visit any of it right now.— "Well you get the idea. Anyway, it was a half year ago that the troubles began. Veriago was beginning to come under attack by other corporations which had grown larger and more powerful the last few years. Veriago was about to lose it's defense contract with the UNSF until they came out with an improved version of the LEV's the UNSF favorited so much, it kept them off Veriago, but not for long, not with other corporations desperate to take it from them. It was also around this time that I met Saleis Black. He had made his way up the ladder as the new chief of security. I got to tell you though, I got a bad vibe from the first moment I met him; I remember feeling a chill run down my spine. It turns out I was right too, it turned out Saleis was a die hard Mars liberation loyalist and a week later, he stole highly sensitive data from Veriago, I later heard a rumor that the data was something on the UNSF but that was never confirmed, well to not me at least. Veriago later hired me to track down and 'deal with him anyway I saw fit'. When I looked into his past as part of trying to track him down, I learned some very...dark things about his past."

_"Like what?"_ asks Seven.

"Well for one, I discovered that before ten years ago, he'd had a family: a wife and an 18 year old son on Mars."

_"What happened to them?"_

"Well ten years ago, there was a riot between Earthers and Mars natives, it turned very violent and Saleis' family was caught in the crossfire, killed from guys from the Earthers side."

_"So he is motivated by an emotional need for vengeance?"_ reasons Seven

"No. Revenge may have been what drove him in the beginning, but not anymore. It might still have_ some_ importance to him but now he's just killing for the hell of it, just to dish out death to others and watch. In fact there's even a report that he was once a part of a large group of pirates, three years before he joined Veriago. The same report mentions that one day the entire group was lured into a trap by law enforcement. During the fight Saleis betrayed the group killed them all and then almost did the same to law enforcement before they managed to take him down, barely. He was listed as killed. 45 people died during that fight, most of them due directly to Saleis."

_ "Hmm...I see..."_

I did eventually find him and we clashed multiple times. However Saleis was formidable and in the end he eventually just...vanished off everyone's radar, I later heard that he'd joined up with BAHRAM but couldn't confirm it...until now."

I sigh as I continued my story."I had failed and Veriago was not happy about, in fact, they'd even threatened to blacklist me, meaning I'd more than likely never work again, well work that in a million years I'd never consider doing."

I sigh once more and stare out into the stars as I finish my story. "This job was my last chance to at least get even with the corporation before I cut ties with them, though it was more about what this job meant that made me want to cut ties with them."

_"Why?"_ Asks Seven._ "Did you not say that they were your biggest employer?_"

"I did but there were other employers who pay decently too out there and besides I don't like the route the corporation is taking, I see only a way for me to get further involved in the conflict that's growing between Mars and Earth; I don't want that...I don't want to get sucked into it."

_"Do you not care what happens to either? Would you not want to defend your home?"_

I am slightly angry by her question. "Of course I care! It's just getting involved means I have to pick a side and I believe they're both wrong! I won't succumb to their level!" I calm myself down before I get to worked up over it...after all, it's not her fault. "No good will come from it..." I say calmly."And for the record I wasn't born on either Mars or Earth, I was born on a space colony orbiting jupiter called Antilia."

I yawn, tired from the multiple mission I'd worked today, added on by the incident at the facility. "Well...I'm going to my quarters to rest up, the next couple days are going to be brutal. Night Seven." I get up to head to my quarters, picking up my helmet along the way. As I exit through the door I could have sworn I heard Seven say "g_ood night"_ back to me but I wasn't sure.

I turn left into the adjacent passageway and walk up the stairs at the end of it. The door slides open to the left automatically. I walk through and enter into a small room with a small black night stand beside a single bed. Directly across from the bed was a chair behind a small desk with a computer console.

I put the helmet on the desk before falling straight back into the bed. I close my eyes and just lay there._ and I will save you Lisana...Saleis...I'll be coming for you soon...I won't fail again..._were my final thoughts before sleep took me.

I slowly awake, stretching my arms over my head. I enter my bathroom and look in the mirror, my face staring back at me. I turned on the faucet and splashed some water on my face. I then grab a nearby hand towel and dry my face, placing the towel around my neck after.

I stare into the mirror at my appearance; My hair was a dark but pale faded brown and came down with strands that hung just an inch or so above my dark, slightly faded, electric eyes. I wouldn't describe myself as a very pale skinned person but I certainly wasn't very tan, being somewhere in between, someone who got enough sun to not look too sickly pale or ghostly but not enough to develop a deep tan.

I also make note about the rest of my appearance. Since I've been so busy the past five or six weeks, I haven't had time to properly trim my beard which has become a short but thick beard that covered my face.

I reach down and pick up a nearby can of shaving cream in one hand and spray it over my beard, while picking up a razor with my other hand. I take it and start shaving my thick full beard. When I finish, I'm left with a thin stubbled look.

I put the towel, razor and shaving cream back and leave the bathroom and head for the nearby drawer, going through it top to bottom. I take out: a thin really dark gray jacket a faded dark gray short sleeve shirt, gray and faded white camo, basic military style cargo pants with jet black Velcro pocket,pouches, small jet black rectangular Velcro strap-on leg pouches and a third back pouch for attachment on a belt, and a black belt with a handgun holster on its left that was held in place by both the main belt, which came through the top slit in the back of the holster, and a secondary smaller, separate, Velcro belt that wraps around the top of the leg and feeds through the secondary bottom slit at the back of the holster. The belt also came with a small square compartment that holds a small grappling hook that can be deployed either via a small button on its side.

I take 'em and throw them on the small singles bed before stripping off my test piloting suit. I quickly get dressed into my clothing, after which I attach the strap-on pouches; one on the right side of my right upper thigh and one on my upper left calf. Exiting my quarters, I head out into the passageway, turn right into the following passageway and head down it to the bridge. The door slides shut as I enter the room and take my seat.

I look through the windows of the ship and see a medium sized space station amongst the uncountable massive amounts of asteroids of the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Most of the station itself was actually imbedded into a large asteroid, the asteroid parts top settled on top of the rocks surface and had a general square shape to it. Extended downward was a large rectangular shaft that split into separate sections and tunnels along it sides. The sections were not entirely visible though as they were deep in the asteroid. Only the top of the main shaft and a few branching tunnels that stuck out slightly on the surface were highly visible. The other part of the station floated in space and was attached to it's rock imbedded half by a large rectangular crossway section that bridged the two.

All though it appears that the station is_ Built_ into the asteroid, it actually isn't; It's a mobile station capable of attaching and detaching from large asteroids. If I hadn't seen this station do so once before as part of its mining operations.

As the ship approaches the station, I made out the shapes of ships going through and from the station as well as a few orbiting high above. I knew that the ones orbiting high above are part of the station's security force since the Command and Control center was near the top of the station, they don't allow just anyone near it. Though I note that there were more there than usual.

_"Attention incoming Frigate!"_ says a strong authoritative voice, I quickly realize it's coming from the station._ "Identify yourself immediately! You have ten seconds to comply or we will fire!"_

_ "I've detected a lock on from the station's main guns."_ warns Seven.

"Yeah I can see that..." I say as I saw the lock on myself on the screen and saw the large heavy caliber guns swivel into place while the ships, which based on their appearance turn out to be specialized anti-ship fighters, started their approach towards me. I quickly get on the comm and respond. "Station, hold fire, this is I.C.S_ Rising Dawn_ 0567, Freelancer seven-one Kenneith Ebanes. transmitting digital ID code for authentication...now"

It takes less than a minute before I hear the station controllers voice again._ "Identification confirmed...what the hell's a freelancer doing here?"_ His voice was filled with confusion at first but it quickly becomes hostile._ "What business do you have here, freelancer?"_

I respond back calmly, not wanting to anger him further. "I need to see Kaylan Rourke, it's urgent."

I hear his voice on the other end become lower and fill with resentment._ "And why should I let you do that?! I don't know who you think you are but—huh? What?—"_ His voice cuts out suddenly. Seconds pass by and I start to get nervous as the fighters close the distance quickly and begin circling the ship. I put the ships weapons in standby mode, preparing for a fight—one that would not end well, especially since they had the upper hand.

Before anything escalated further—thankfully—a different, more welcoming, and familiar voice began to speak._ "Attention, 0567, you have been cleared for docking bay two, welcome back, Kenn."_ it was a somewhat gruff voice that had a slight hint of Scottish.

"Good to hear your voice, Shaw."

_"Yours too my friend" _Replies Shaw, half-heartedly.

"So what was with the hostile welcome back there?" I ask curiously. "Expecting trouble?"

I felt the tone in his voice shift. _"You...you haven't heard?"_ he says. His voice sounds low and carries a sympathetic undertone in it. _"We have much to talk about, Kenn."_

I set the ship to dock automatically and head down to the cargo bay. Usually I fly the ship in and dock manually but I decide not to this time. Mostly because I wanted to check on the state of Antaeus further. When I came down, I saw that the damage down to the frame was more or less the same and the trip through space hadn't affected it at all. That being said, its condition was still pretty bad. There was no way Saleis was using normal weapons, even for an Orbital Frame, to cause the damage he did, especially since it seemed most of the damage affected specifically the operational systems of the Frame.

I walk away from Antaeus and press a button on a console attached to a metal wall directly across from Antaeus. I look to my left and watch as the cargo bay door opens and the large walkway extends.

The moment I step out, Shaw is there to greet me. He had dark red hair and dark brown eyes, stood about 6'3 and 200 or so pounds. He was big in comparison to my 5'11 and 177 pound self. so when he pats me on the back, it slightly hurts.

"It's good to see, Kenn." he says with a brief smile that quickly fades. "But I take it you're not here for a social call, huh?" Shaw enjoyed calling me 'Kenn' because he knew I didn't particularly like being called that, at first when he started calling me that, I got onto him but I eventually just gave up.

I shake my head. "No, unfortunately, I..I uh ran into a problem and I need to see Kaylan."

He rolls his eyes. "You're always so hard on your toys, you know, Kaylan just finished just repaired that LEV of yours…"

"Ok that wasn't my fault it was—" I start to say but I quickly change topic. "—Nevermind, it's not important right now. anyway, what was it I 'didn't know'?"

"Not here, I'll tell you in the Engineering deck, with Kaylan." I follow him from the docking area of the hanger further back where two large mining ships directly across from us were unloading their yield, mined from the nearby asteroids. Large crates of unprocessed ore came out of the ships, carried by loader LEV's who then place the crates onto six large platform, three on each side. Each time the platforms are full, a nearby technician pushes a button on a single console in front of the platforms and down the ore went, down the shaft, down to where the ore would then be processed. From there, a multitude of things could happen to it; once processed it could be then shipped out to prospective buyers, or used to make what the station needed here in their small scale workshop.

The LEV's start to head back into the ship to start the process again until the ship is empty. we pass them as they come back out with another haul of ore. We came to two doors, one was made for LEV's and small ships, the other, was a normal sized door. We enter through the door and enter into an upside down L shaped corridor that shared a wall that three-fourths of which made of a transparent material. Looking through the wall you could see the vehicle bay where there were numerous LEV's and other various ground vehicles, each with a specific purpose on the station.

There three doors in the corridor, two, one in front of us and one to our left, led directly into the vehicle bay. the third door was forward and then to the right of the door in front of us, behind it, the Engineering deck. We enter through the third door…

There were less than a hundred personnel here, some going to and from area to area with datapads, tools, and etc. Some were currently working on the various vehicles and small ships scattered around the area, more than a few of which had sections taken out and were either placed beside their chassis or were being held above it by a mechanical electrical and mechanical systems and parts were exposed in various places, and the mechanics and technicians working tirelessly to restore them to prime working condition causing the whole area to be filled with the sound of welding equipment, sparks going off, and the mechanical whirring of machines.

I quickly turn my head in all directions to search for Kaylan but to no luck. Kaylan could have been anyone of the mechanics here. Shaw however seemed to know exactly where Kaylan was, saying "Over here." and pointing towards a slightly isolated corner section of the deck where a mechanic and technician were working on a Combat LEV, type Phantoma that looked like they had already finished it. As we get closer, I realize something I should have noticed before. The LEV they were working on had a metallic black color for its base color and faded white pattern that covered sections of its chest, arms, and leg areas; A small white 07 on its front right shoulder and larger version on the left side of its shoulder were visible on its shoulder. The LEV was mine. This meant that the mechanic was…

"Kaylan!" says Shaw as we approach them.

Kaylan stood at 5'9 143 pounds, has amber fire brown eyes that almost always had a spark/fire in them, had medium-length brown hair with a reddish tint that was in a short ponytail most of the time, with strands of hair hanging down the sides of Kaylan's face.

Kaylan turns towards us. "Shaw? what is it? I'm a little busy he—." her eyes grow wide as she notices me. "Keith...I...I wasn't expecting you for another day or two." She quickly regains her composure. "Well since you're here, I've finished with your LEV, I was just checking over its systems with one of our technicians here."

"Thats good but that's not why I'm here…"

I explain the whole situation to the both of them. During the part where I mention needing repairs to Antaeus, Kaylan sends the technician away with orders to bring the Orbital Frame onto the Engineering Deck. I finish the story and they both just look at me.

"I have to find Saleis." I say boldly. "Before it's too late."

"Thats what I wanted to talk to you about, actually." Shaw says sheepishly. "I might know where he is right now…"

"He...hasn't heard yet?" Kaylan says in a low tone.

I was getting annoyed. "Haven't heard what? SOmeone please tell me!" " My brow lowers in anger.

"BAHRAM recently launched a strike force against a UNSF controlled territory."

"So thats why you've tightened security around here, being that your roght in the middle of the two." I interrupt.

"Thats not all Keith." says Shaw. I'm immediately nervous. Usually when he calls me by my real name, or the shortened version of it, there is usually only bad news that follows. "The territory they attacked…" he continues. " was a space colony."

_No….it can't be!_ I scream internally. _Don't you dare say it!_ But I knew better, I knew the words that were about to come next, though I could pray they would never be uttered all I want, I knew better and waited for the inevitable.

After what seemed an eternity to me, Shaw spoke again. "The colony they attacked...was Antillia…" my heart sinks deep into pit of my stomach. my eyes grow wide, I can barely move. I reach out for the nearby console, using it to brace myself. I can see Kaylan and Shaw from the corner of my eyes and see signs of empathy and pity.

Right now, Antillia - the place where my family was, the place I considered home.-was being attacked, no doubt brutally, by BAHRAM. And one of the systems most brutal, calculating, and sadistic bastards very well could be among them.

I quickly went from a state of shock, to state of furious anger. my hands became fists and I wanted nothing more than to ram them down BAHRAM, and Saleis' throat...

**Authors note:**

**Sorry it's been awhile since I updated, real life caught up with me and I've been bogged down all kinds of stuff. I should have slightly more free time now that I've caught up on a few things, so I should be able to update more often now. Though it might have to be every week or _two_, depending on what happens.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and feel free to leave reviews and comments.(Remember, nothing too nasty or just plain rude/mean...) other then that, I'm open to anything.**

**as always, enjoy.**

**- CobaltSkywing**


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